Chapter 7 - The Second Heir Nobody Knew Existed
Dante read the sentence three times.
Lena was not the only heir.
Isabella looked at the nurse.
“Who put this in the blanket?”
“We don't know.”
Dante's security locked down the hospital.
No one entered.
No one left.
Marcus reviewed the cameras.
At 2:17 a.m., a woman in a nurse's uniform entered the maternity wing.
She was not hospital staff.
Her face was hidden.
But the security footage showed her carrying a small envelope.
The next camera caught her leaving.
Marcus recognized her.
Lucia Romano.
Dante stared at Isabella's mother.
“She did this?”
Lucia entered the room.
“I did.”
Isabella looked furious.
“Why?”
“Because you need the truth.”
“I've had enough truth.”
“No.”
Lucia approached the baby.
“Not yet.”
She handed Isabella another document.
A birth record.
The name on it was unfamiliar.
Dante read it.
Daniel Romano Moretti.
Male.
Born seven years earlier.
Mother: Unknown.
Father: Unknown.
Isabella looked at her.
“Who is Daniel?”
Lucia closed her eyes.
“Your father had another child.”
Silence.
“With whom?”
“Your father's first wife.”
Isabella's breath caught.
“My father was married before?”
“Yes.”
“Where is the child?”
Lucia looked toward Dante.
“Somewhere safe.”
Dante felt a cold realization.
“The second heir.”
“Yes.”
“Why wasn't he in the trust?”
“He was.”
Lucia placed another page on the bed.
The trust listed two potential heirs.
The first child born to a Moretti-Romano union.
And the first child born to the direct Romano line.
Lena satisfied the first condition.
Daniel satisfied the second.
Together they controlled everything.
But if they were separated, the trust remained vulnerable.
Victor wanted Daniel.
Dante turned to Marcus.
“Find him.”
“We've been trying.”
“Try harder.”
They located Daniel two days later.
He was living with an elderly woman in New Hampshire.
He was seven years old.
His foster mother cried when Dante arrived.
She had been paid to keep him hidden.
Daniel looked at Dante.
“Are you my uncle?”
Dante stared.
Something about the boy was painfully familiar.
“Yes.”
Daniel smiled.
“I've seen you on television.”
Dante almost laughed.
“I'm sorry.”
“Why?”
“Because television isn't real life.”
Daniel frowned.
“Are you dangerous?”
Dante didn't answer immediately.
Then he said,
“I used to be.”
The boy considered him.
“Are you now?”
Dante looked at Isabella.
She answered for him.
“Not to us.”
Daniel smiled.
That night, Isabella and Lena arrived.
Daniel stared at the baby.
“She's little.”
“She is.”
“Is she my sister?”
“Not by blood.”
He nodded as though that made sense.
“Can I hold her?”
Isabella hesitated.
Then smiled.
“Very carefully.”
He sat.
The baby curled her fingers around his.
Daniel laughed.
“She likes me.”
Dante watched.
For the first time, he understood the purpose of the trust.
Not money.
Not control.
Children.
The next generation.
A chance to end the cycle.
But Martin was still alive.
And Victor had been arrested.
Someone else had to be behind the final threat.
The answer came from Marcus.
“We found a hidden payment.”
Dante looked at the file.
“Recipient?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Lucia Romano.”
Isabella froze.
“My mother?”
Dante looked at Lucia.
She didn't deny it.
“I paid Martin.”
“Why?”
“To protect Daniel.”
“And Lena?”
“To protect them both.”
“From who?”
Lucia looked at Dante.
“From you.”
Dante stared.
“What?”
“You thought you were protecting Isabella.”
Lucia shook her head.
“You were actually protecting the person responsible for everything.”
Dante's face hardened.
“Who?”
Lucia whispered,
“Marco.”
Isabella stepped backward.
“My father?”
“He never died because of illness.”
She stared.
“He was murdered.”
“By whom?”
Lucia's voice broke.
“Me.”
Isabella froze.
“What?”
Lucia began crying.
May you like
“I killed your father.”
The room fell silent.
